The Lost Island
by K'shameHirin
Summary: Siomai (si-o-my) used to be an island country until she was bombed and died. Then, forty years later, Karia (Kar-i-a), an exact duplicate of Siomai is found by America. Karia learns about Siomai, who looked so much like her, and about the countries "human" forms. With all of the overwhelming events going on, Karia must deal with her mind and the hearts of others.
1. Prologue

Prologue: The End

I was dying, I knew that much. After the nuke had hit, I fainted and have been bed ridden ever since. Most of my people, oblivious to my existence, had left for better land to plant crops and live on because mine had been destroyed. England keeps telling me to hang on, but what is there to grab? My country is in ruins, the land dead and the trees withering, nothing will ever grow or live here again. I was once a proud but kind country, until the nuclear bomb hit my largest plot of growing land. With their livelihood gone, people were forced to leave if they had not been victims of the blast. To tell the truth, I don't blame the country who did it. To be one of us means to put yourself before all other people, country or human. You have to listen to your boss and sometimes you can't tell what your citizens are hiding, like a nuclear bomb for instance. The war that this happened was the first war that I ever took a large part in. England usually helped me to a point where I had to tell him to back off. I had wanted to help him and just look where it got me. Laying on a bed in a special hospital unable to move and abandoned by my people. Other countries come to visit me sometimes, but England visits me the most. We've had an "alliance" for a long time. Of all alliances, the strangest one that occurred was between me and England, the longest lasting one in history. This was because of our love for each other. It was a human love, which got in the way of our politics a lot, but now that doesn't matter. I have no time left. I turn my head to face England using some of the last of my strength. He is whispering to himself and to me. He says things like "please get better" and more desperately, "please don't die". A tear falls from my eye, I know it's pointless to hold on any longer. I open my mouth and speak with a faint voice. "I love you," and "I'm sorry". He looks at me with hope on his face before realizing the implications of what I said. He rushes to tell a nurse, but it's too late. Crying, darkness surrounds me, warm and comforting. I used to be Siomai the island paradise, now I am gone, dead to the world.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note: I do not own Hetalia, but I do own Siomai and Karia. I'm warning you now, the first few chapters are kinda slow.

Chapter 1: The Club

Karia's Point of View

"Finally!" I said to the world as I exited the building. I looked at my diploma and smiled. _This is it! I'm on my own from now on._ I walked to my dorm with a gleeful expression plastered on my face. With a click of the key, the door opened and I looked around. The room that I had spent the last four years in was mostly empty, once I had heard that I was graduating, I packed pretty much everything up for the move. There was an apartment that I had bought, I had been saving for a couple of years for a place to live in and seeing as I had no parents left to go to, I needed it. They had died soon after I left high school. I was over it though. I was free from school and could get to work. But first I was going to party like never before. I had gotten a pass to one of the bigger clubs in town and I was hoping that I would enjoy it. Normally I don't have very much fun in clubs, but I thought that today would be different because I was in a dancing mood. The only problem was that I had no one to go with. I was very dependent on others, I couldn't do much without confirmation from them. Only this time, I was sure that I would go alone and be confident about it._ But I'm a little scared._ I tilted my head down as I thought, my very dark brown (almost black) hair falling into my blueish brown eyes. I was not a clubbing type of girl, not at all. I had bought the pass because I had heard that some of my not-so-close friends were going. They were my friends, I thought, but we didn't talk much. I hoped to find them there anyways, then at least I wouldn't be alone. I was finishing packing up the rest of my unneeded things like my graduation gown when my roommate came in.

"I hear that your going to that club tonight." she stated.

"Yep" I looked up from my packing. She was looking at me with slight worry. She had just come back from the graduation ceremony, her family was still alive and her circle of friends more wide, so she had probably been talking to them.

"I worry about you sometimes, Karia." She took out her hand and started to count on her fingers, "One you don't have any friends to go with, two you social skills are severely lacking, and three clubs aren't just something you go alone to."

"I'll be fine, stop bothering me." I held up a creamy blue shirt that didn't reveal anything but was still flattering and then put it down on a pair of blue jeans. "Don't you have some other people to nag?" she sighed, hand on her forehead.

"Good luck. You'll need it." she moved to her side of the room and flopped on her bed, falling asleep pretty much immediately. I looked at my watch, it read about seven o'clock. _These end of school year events happen too late for way too long. Oh well, at least it's closer to eight, when the club opens._ I took my time showering and getting ready, but didn't bother putting on makeup. My theory was that it was too dark with too many bright lights for anyone to even think about looking at my face too hard. The time went by quickly, and soon I was hitching a ride in a taxi headed towards the club. I was almost shaking when I arrived. The place wasn't too big, at least, that's what I thought. I showed my pass to the person at the door and stepping in I found my self pounded by music and people talking. I was shivering as I wandered over to the edge of the dance floor. _I didn't think that it would be so loud! I mean, I thought that it would be loud, but this is ear-splitting._ There were some people dancing in a large blob with one man in the middle, dancing with a passion. He didn't seem too bothered by the music, it was like he was losing himself in it.

Something inside of me sparked as a saw his blond haired head and goofy dancing. I must have been staring because he looked my way and froze. I flinched and turned around, trying to dance and blend with the crowd of people. But my mind was on the blond man, they way his blue eyes widened when he saw me and when he froze I thought that I had done something wrong. Several songs went by and I finally began to dance and have fun like I meant it. That was until someone touched my shoulder and made me yelp, not that it could be heard over everything else. I turned my head and found myself looking at the blue eyed man. We just stared for a moment, then he spoke.

"Hello." he asked tentatively, like I would run away. "I was wondering if I could join you."

"Sure, but I was just about to go get a drink." _I hope they have more than just alcohol._

"I guess that I need a drink too." he motioned his hand to follow, "I'll buy you something." now he seemed eager, as if something exciting had happened. I followed, but kept a safe distance, no matter what I thought, he was a stranger._ But he doesn't feel like it. There's something about him that I can't quite pin down._ Knowing the danger of following, I go with him to sit down at a counter. When it came to me to ask what I want, I asked for a water._ No sense making him buy me anything else._ "Have you ever heard of Siomai?" He spoke and I looked at him._ That's a random topic._

"Yeah, isn't that country that just got bombed forty years ago in a war? I heard that it used to be a very nice place until then." I let my attention wander elsewhere, "I've always wanted to go there, if only to see how badly it was ruined." he smiled like a dork at me.

"Yeah, that would be nice." his smile vanished and he mumbled something in a voice that I couldn't hear. Our conversation turned from there and we talked about random things. I felt like I had known him forever. Eventually I looked at my watch an found that it was very late. I said goodbye to the blond man and started to leave. He raised his hand as if to stop me, but I ignored him. After all, he was a complete stranger. _I've started to get tired, I'm not made for late night parties. Well, one more night in the dorms and I'm off to my new home._ I exited the doors and no sooner had I done that was I faced with the pure dark of night.

"Maybe I shouldn't have left without someone with me." I said quietly. But the walk to find a taxi was short and no one came up to me as I unlocked my door and fell asleep quickly on my bed. _One more night and I'm free to do whatever I want with my life, no more school._ I slept dreamlessly that night.

Name Pronunciations:

Siomai-(si-o-my)

Karia-(kar-i-a)


	3. Chapter 2

Author's note: I do not own Hetalia, but I do own all of my characters such as Ne'ana and Siomai and Karia.

Chapter 2

America/Alfred's Point of View

I had gone to that place to get her off my mind. The anniversary of Siomai's death was approaching fast and none of us felt good about it. Even after years of searching, we couldn't find out which country had sent the nuke and eventually gave up. They had somehow kept it a secret from their country, that or the country knew and they didn't want t admit it. It took England a lot longer to come to his senses, he was mad with grief and anger for at least a decade. He neglected his country and almost went into a horrid state of economy because of that. He even tried to bring her back but came back later with no success and tears in his eyes. We all came to her funeral but there was no body. When a nation dies, their body doesn't stick around for long, it just sort of dissipates. With less than three days left before the date, England and I were restless. She was all that we could think about, the rest of the countries have been commenting on the lack of my usual enthusiasm. They didn't care as much, but they still cared enough to worry. Before I had left for the club I had stopped by England's place to check in. He was sitting at his kitchen table drinking tea, as if nothing was wrong.

"What do you want, America?" he asked with a sigh. He normally would have chased me out the door by then, but we were both in a subdued mood.

"Just checking in, I was wondering if you needed my company tonight, to get our minds off of-" He put his cup down with such force I stopped mid-sentence.

"I don't want to hear her name, America. I'm not sure that I want to hear it ever again. All that it brings me is bad memories. I just want to move on." He went back to his drink, "Go on, leave, I don't need you here." That was when I left him to be alone. _I don't need to hang around that grumpy old brit. _I thought angrily to myself. _Why did I care in the first place?_ The trip back home was long and it left me to do some thinking. Mostly about her, Siomai. She had helped England raise me but she hadn't kept me until I had to break away, so I liked her better than the old man. Why she had chosen him was beyond me, I thought that no one liked him, let alone loved. I shook memories of the past from my head and put on a smile that would fool anyone as I stepped off of the plane. _I've got to move on._ I took a cab to the club and arrived a few minutes before eight. I danced alone for a while, but people began to crowd around me and try to imitate my moves. I laughed and cried out in a loud voice.

"You could never copy me! I'm the hero!" I felt better as people laughed at my statement and I felt light and happy. It was a while before I noticed that more people had entered. It was getting close to nine, but I wasn't tired yet. Then I saw a woman, twenty years old or so with very dark brown hair. It reminded me of Siomai's, the length and color were just right. It clicked in my brain that she was too much alike. I froze as I caught her eye. She had stopped dancing too, looking strait at me. She flinched and turned away, but I wasn't going to give up. I tried to sneak away, but a girl caught me and tried to pry me away, bak to the big group. I broke her hold easily and she pouted but I was determined to figure out who this girl was. I eventually found her again, dancing alone in a giant room full of people. I touched her shoulder and I heard a faint yelp. _Will she run? _"Hello, I was wondering if I could join you."

"Sure, but I was just about to go get a drink." she said with an edge of fright to her voice._ It's not like I'm scary or anything. _I replied, offered to buy her something, and motioned for her to follow. _It's like she's come back to life, on_ly_ I'm sure that shes a human and this is just a coincidence. I wonder..._ "Have you ever heard of Siomai?" I ask her without thinking. She looked up from her drink and told me that she knew as much as any other of my citizens. That it was an abandoned country that wasn't anything anymore. I smiled briefly, but it didn't last for long.

"Yeah, that would be nice." I said halfheartedly then adding quietly, "If she were alive. She always knew how to make herself a wonderful place to go to." The rest of the evening went smoothly until she got up to leave.

"It was nice talking to you, but I've got to go." She walked away without a second thought._ Wait! I need to know your name!_ I reached out, but changed my mind._ It was a nice thought, but there is no way that she's Siomai, Siomai's dead. But maybe... _but the woman was gone. Soon after she left I went back to my house and fell asleep. My dreams were full of the past and I was lost in them until someone started to shake me.

"Hey, America." and then, "Alfred!" I was jolted awake by my human name and found myself back in the real world. The woman standing over me was smiling and prodding my side with her fingers. I whacked them away. She laughed at my sleepy attempt to wave her off. "Come on Alfred, get up." she prodded me again and I got up.

"Why? Ne'ana I'm tired, I stayed out late last night." She smiled sadly.

"You didn't cheat on me did you?" her question was good natured, but I could hear some worry in her tone. Ne'ana was my girlfriend, she used to be Siomaian and had stayed by Siomai's side until the end, then she had moved in with me. We weren't married, but we were very close. I had tied her to myself a long time ago, so she had stopped aging. She shared my usual hyperness on her good days, of course some of that had changed forty years ago when Siomai died. She lost a part of her joy that day and it never came back.

"No, of course not." I recalled the woman I had talked with the night before. "Ne'ana?"

"Yeah?" she sat down next to me on the couch.

"I met a woman last night..." I started.

"So you did cheat on me." she was making a joke, I could tell, but I wasn't in a joking mood.

"No, I'm trying to be serious." I sighed.

"That's new." she wouldn't give up.

"Ne'ana," I held her shoulders "listen." her mood changed visibly.

"What's got you bothered? What could a woman do that would make you act even less perky than usual?"

"She looked just like Siomai." Ne'ana's eyes were wide open then. "I didn't get her name, but I could find her again..." she shook her head and tears started to form in her eyes.

"America," she began but changed her mind and started over, "Alfred, she's been dead for forty years now." she looked up at me. "She won't be coming back. No matter what you say, she isn't a replacement for Siomai." Ne'ana had been Siomai's closest friend. After her death, Ne'ana cried a lot. For a while even me, the hero, couldn't cheer her up.

"...I still want to find out who she is." I smiled at her, "She seemed nice, maybe you'd like her."

"Or maybe I'll be reminded of my old friend every day and go insane." she remarked sarcastically and promptly added in a softer voice, "Just don't go telling England, he doesn't need any false hope." I could tell that wasn't going to get much support from her.

"In that case, I'll leave." I declared.

"To do what?" She asked.

"To find the woman, I want to ask her her name." I walked out the door waving to Ne'ana. She just stood there, her face still streaked with drying tears.

Name Pronunciations:

Ne'ana-(nay-ana)

Siomai-(si-o-my)


	4. Chapter 3

Author's note: I don't own Hetalia, but I do own Karia and Ne'ana. (by the way, Siomai doesn't exist in our world, just in case you didn't notice. She is a completely made up character from my head, name and all).

Chapter 3: An Coincidental Meeting

Karia's Point of View

I was unpacking my things into my new home. I had said goodbye to my roommates and hauled my possessions (a.k.a. I loaded them into a cab) and went to pay the last of the money to the last owner of the apartment.. It was mine now. _I need to brighten this place up. I don't have enough stuff to fill this whole room._ I thought as I put a picture on the bedside table. It was of my family, it wasn't a very good picture, but I liked it. It was all I had photo wise. The rest had been taken by relatives. _Relatives that hate me. They never liked my parents, it was like they had some sort of grudge against them. _I stopped unpacking and put everything in a corner. _I need to dust or something first. There's a layer of the stuff on every wall. When was this place last used? _The apartment room was slightly dusty but it wasn't dirty in any other sense. The old owners had left me a bed and some sheets for it in the closet. _Well, home sweet home from now on._ After I unpacked and cleaned up a bit, I flopped on the bed and thought about the night before. _I wonder why that man approached me. People usually don't connect with me, I never have any conversation topics that they're interested in._ I fiddled with my hair._ I wish that I had made more friends in school. I could have gone with someone last night. But then I wouldn't have met that man. He was fun, but he looked at me as if something was on my face the whole time._

Shaking my head as if I could dislodge any thoughts, I grabbed my purse and locked the apartment door as I left. _I need to go to work._ The day had gone by quickly. I worked as a manager at a fast food place as a part time job, and had yet to find a more permanent place of work. I arrived and walked in the back door. I could hear some one bickering with someone else out in the eating area. The conversation was lost to me seeing as I was in the back.

"Karia!" someone called from the front. "We need you up front" I groaned. They must have been short on people today, because I was usually in the back managing things. If I was up front I would have to put on a fake smile and be kind (not that I'm not friendly, it's just that the fumes get to me sometimes). I walked up front just as someone came up to the counter. I looked up to face him.

"He-" I stopped speaking. It was the same man from the dance the other night. _This is strange, why would he be here? Surely an adult would stay away from fast food unless they had kids?_

America's Point of View

I asked my government to help me find the Siomai duplicate, but they said that they had other things to be worried about. So I was left with nothing to do, it's wasn't like I could go all around the states and not get really bored and give up (I had already gone to a couple of states, but my boss said that I couldn't waste money like that and stopped me). Plus it would've taken forever, so not fun. So I had gone to the closest fast food place to try and cheer my self up._ I could have gone home to Ne'ana, but I'm not in the mood to talk to her right now, she wasn't being very supportive of this._ I walked in and found that there were very little people there, so no line for me. Stepping up to face the person at the counter I caught their eye and found myself looking at Siomai. My mind reeled for a moment before I heard her speak.

"What can I get for you?" she asked in a normal toned voice. _Does she not remember me?_ "Hello?" she waved a hand in my face after I had just stood there for a moment. "What can I get for you?"

"A hamburger and meet me outside when your done here." she looked at me, bewildered.

"Okay then." I handed her the money and she quickly got me my order. In a low voice she added, "I will go, but you better not be one of those creepers." With a satisfied smile I took my burger and went outside to wait.

Karia's Point of View

After I had finished and the people who normally work the front came in late, I left the building to meet with the blue eyed man. Wiping some grease I picked up from just being in the building on my pants, I found him waiting by the door were I came out. "You realize how ridiculous you look, going into a place like this without kids and at your age." was the first thing I said.

"And you being stuck working at a fast food place at your age is kinda ridiculous too." I flinched.

"Drop it." I said quickly. "What did you want to see me for?"

"I wanted to ask you your name. You didn't tell me last night." why did he want to know?

"Why should I tell you?" I asked.

"Because..." he paused. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh come on, I can handle it." I taunted. I really wanted to know because no one has ever really sought me out before.

"You have to tell me your name first, then maybe I can tell you." _huh. He's acting like it's some sort of big secret._

"Fine." his face lit up, but I could see worry in his eyes. "My name is Karia Ralen." he froze and then started to freak out.

"It's you!" he exclaimed.

"I'm who?"I was a little shocked._ Whaaat?_

"You've got to come with me!" he grabbed my arm but stopped abruptly. "But you're human right? And you don't remember?" I was getting ticked off.

` "Of course I'm human, what else could I be? And remember what?" I demanded.

"You should meet Ne'ana first. She will be able to tell you, she should be the one to do so." _More of the whole 'not telling me' crap. _I began to think pessimistically. _What if he's a kidnapper?_ I was usually very trusting, but I was afraid that that trust would get me in a sticky situation here.

"I'll go, but you have to tell me where we're going first. I also have to change." the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them and he nodded and let me go back inside. One of my coworkers stopped in front of me.

"Was that someone you know?" I could tell that she was going to spread rumors about me and the fast food junkie.  
"Technically." I walked off without another word and changed quickly. When I got out of the changing room, I met the man outside. "You know, you never told me you name."

"It's Am-, I mean Alfred F. Jones." _Am-?_

"Where are we going?"

"My house."_ his house?! I shouldn't have said I would go. But then again, I've always dreamed of an adventure. I just hope this one ends well. _I followed him to his car, fully aware that a co-worker was watching. _I'm probably going to get fired for leaving work early for some guy. _"You need to meet Ne'ana."

"Who's Ne'ana, anyways?" His response was prompt.

"My girlfriend." _If he already has a girlfriend, why is he freaking out because of me? I barely __even know him!_ He grabbed my arm and, with an amazing display of strength, lifted me up and almost carried me to his car. I was the one freaking out as he practically shoved me in the vehicle.

"But it's almost eight!" he closed the door and started driving. "I need to go home and I'm not sure that I completely trust you." I protested, but he didn't pull over, just kept driving. Another thought hit me. "Where do you live anyways? I need to know where I'm headed."

"In Washington D.C." _WHAAAAT!?_

"And just how in the world are we getting there? We're in New York!" I exclaimed.

"By plane, of course. Going by car won't get us there fast enough." I folded my arms. _I knew that this was a mistake. Why didn't I walk away when I still could?_

"So you're essentially kidnapping me."

"You told me you wanted to come." was all that he said. It was silent for the rest of the trip. I was open mouthed by his bluntness and wondered how on earth his girlfriend could deal with him. He was giddy with excitement._ This is going to be a wild ride._ I thought._ I'm being taken prisoner and dragged to Washington._ I sighed and looked out the window with a look of acceptance on my face. _ Oh well. This might be fun._

Name Pronunciations:

Ne'ana-(nay-ana)

Karia-(kar-ia)


	5. Chapter 4

Authors Note: I don't own Hetalia, just my characters. Sorry for all the short chapters, I'm not very good at judging when to stop them. Also, sorry for the long wait, it's totally slipped my mind to keep writing. Please don't hate me for anything.

Chapter 4: The Truth About Countries

Karia's Point of View

I cautiously entered the airport, regretting every step I took. The drive hadn't been long, but the silence had been overwhelming. Alfred seemed like he wanted to talk, or maybe even cry throughout the whole journey._ He really is an odd person. "_Why on earth did I go with him?" I muttered under my breath._ Because you wanted an adventure, Karia._ A small inner voice told me. I shook the thought away from my head quickly, but I knew that it was mostly true. I was following Alfred through the airport when a thought came to mind. "Hey, Alfred!" I called to him, seeing as he was several meters ahead of me. He turned around and stopped walking.

"Yes?" he was holding back excitement, I could tell.

"How are we going to get tickets anyways? It's impossible unless you got them ahead of time." all he did was laugh and turn to keep moving forward. I stopped. I wasn't going to be in the dark any longer. "It's time you told me what's really going on." he soon realized that I wasn't following. "Why are you taking me to Washington? Why me?"

"Ummm... this isn't really the place for this, Karia." he looked around at some people who had stopped for a moment to listen in on us. "Uhh... why don't we just find our plane?"  
"You're a real idiot, aren't you?" I sighed. Just then a woman came up to Alfred and hit him hard.

"I thought I told you not to look for her! I had to ask a lot of people to find out where you had-" she looked at me and almost burst into tears._ Okay, now I really have to know what in the world is going on._ She composed herself and continued. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Alfred just gets a little excited at times." _ Uh-huh. I think I've realized that. _I took a look at the woman in front of me. She had brownish-black hair, like me but lighter, and green eyes. She wore blue jeans and a simple red top with a zigzag design on it. Her hair was also longer than mine by several inches (she had it in a high pony tail and was still longer than mine).

"Are you Alfred's girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yes, that would be me." she smiled at me. Then Alfred re-joined the conversation.

"See?! I told you she was a Siomai look-a-like!" _I look like a destroyed mass of land?_

"I see that, but why did you have to drag her into our life? What if she's just a human that doesn't care or remember?" the woman I assumed to be Ne'ana started to nag at Alfred. For a while they bickered and I just stood there dazed. Soon though, I snapped out of it and cleared my throat.

"If you guys are done arguing, I'd like an explanation. You know, the one that Alfred refused to give me?" Ne'ana stopped and glared at him.

"You didn't even bother to explain to her why your taking her?!" she snapped.

"It wasn't like she would understand!" he shrunk back and whined back at her. She looked at me with what looked like pity.

"Maybe we need to explain this all to you. You deserve to know at this point." she offered.

"Yes. What is going on?" I asked one final time.

"Let's sit down." we walked over to a mostly secluded area and sat on a nearby bench. "Essentially Alfred mistook you for someone else. She was someone we know, but she died a while back. He just got excited and tried to drag you around in a hope that you were her."

"But if she's dead, how can I be her?"_ this doesn't make much sense at all._

"...Do you have a place to stay that we can talk alone.?" she said after a short pause. I nodded slowly.

"We can go to my home, but it's a bit messy, I just moved in." I replied.

"Then let's got there, I'll fully explain at your house."

"Sure." I left the airport tailed by two people I had just barely met. Maybe I was too trusting.

Ne'ana's Point of View

_She really is a look-a-like for Siomai. She even looks the same as when she... died._ I ignored the last thought as much a I could, but just that and the appearance of this woman had me reliving the past. Siomai was a very close friend of mine. I had met her one day in one of the open markets that were common in her land. We talked for a while and met a few times later as well. It wasn't long before she told me about her being a country and the world she lived in. I attended one of the meetings with her and met Alfred, who I called America back then. But that's another story. We were friends up until the very end. She died while I was helping Alfred with some government thing. Now she was gone and there was a woman who looked way too much like Siomai to be coincidence. We all got into Alfred's car and the girl opted to be in the back seat so I could sit next to her.

"Again, I'm so sorry that my boyfriend dragged you here at night. It must seem really creepy." I tried to lighten the 'creepy' mood by apologizing. She just shook her head and smiled.

"It's okay. It was a kind of adventure, but I'll admit that I was a little scared in the beginning. Now can sorta tell that you aren't kidnappers. After all, you did chew him out for taking me to the airport." she held her hand out to me. "My name's Karia Ralen, nice to meet you." at the mention of that name I froze. It had been Siomai's human name. I soon realized that she was still holding out her hand and took it. She then looked at the road and pointed Alfred to the right road and after a few wrong turns we stopped in front of a large apartment complex. Karia led us inside and unlocked a door on the first floor. "Home sweet home. So what did you have to tell me, I really want to know."

I looked at Alfred and he looked back at me nervously. Telling someone about the countries being people could and probably would get you into trouble. There really weren't that many consequences to doing it, but if everyone knew, complications could occur. If you tell anyone, you have to make sure that they can keep a secret. Finally I stepped and took a seat on one of the many boxes in the room and hoped what ever was inside wasn't breakable.

"The secret that I'm about to tell you is not to be told to anyone, got it?" I looked at Karia with a serious expression on my face. I had to enforce that rule, no matter who the person was or who they looked like.

"Sure. I'm good at keeping secrets." she responded.

"Good. I'm going to make this blunt and let you ask the questions. Alfred is really America the country." she just sort of stood for a while before sitting on a box like I had.

"But that doesn't make any sense. A country is a mass of land with at least a hundred people on it, how can one person be a hundred people?" she looked at Alfred with new eyes.

"I just represent the country of America, I think." Alfred jumped in suddenly. _Most level-headed thing he's said all evening._

"Does every country have a 'representative'?" _Good, an easy one. I hate having to explain this to her because of Alfred's stupidity._

"Yes. Every one."

"Does Siomai have one?" it was an innocent question but it hurt. I took a second and noticed that he was struggling too. Karia waited patiently for my answer.

"Yes. But she's dead now. Her land was destroyed to the point of no return. That's part of why you were dragged to the airport." the words came out hard.

"What do I have to do with a dead country? I'm not even Siomaian!" she exclaimed.

"You look just like her!" Alfred burst out, obviously because he couldn't stay quiet for so long. "You have the same name too!"

"What does that mean?" she said and after a moments thought continued. "So that's why you tried to drag me to the air port, to tell these other countries that Siomai was back." Alfred looked at me with guilt, proving that what she had just said was true. "I'm sorry." Those two words surprised me._ Why is she saying sorry?_ "I can tell that you really cared about her, but I can tell you this here and now. I'm not her. I never will be. Even if I am some sort of reincarnation of her, there's no chance that I want to be her. I want to be me."

"You realize that we can't just leave you alone though, right?" the man that I thought, or hoped, wouldn't speak up again spoke up. "You could be the only way to..."

"Shut up America." my use of his country name made him go still. I knew that he was going to say we use her to heal England from his emotional scar. His country was healed, but the part of him that was human still mourned for his love. But you can't make someone love another person. That wasn't possible, love happened on it's own. "You realize that if we go to him and she ignores him, it will just damage him further?"

"Who?" Karia asked.

"...England." I said after about three minutes of silence. This was not where we had wanted the conversation to go.

"Why would I hurt him just by being there? Did Siomai do something to him?" I sighed._ She probably won't like this._

"Siomai was England's... girlfriend for lack of a better word."

"Ah." she nodded her head. And after a minute she said, "It hurts to lose loved one's. I lost my parents after all, but I can't say that it's the same thing."

"Uh... Ne'ana?" Alfred tentatively broke in.  
"Yes America?" I was still slightly angry with him for bringing the topic of England up.

"It's almost eleven at night and I'm getting tired. Can we go home now?" He was strangely subdued.

"Yes, do you have a place to stay here? I mean here in New York?"

"Of course I do, I always think ahead." he said stubbornly.

"Karia," I shifted my attention to her. "We should go. Can we meet you again tomorrow and figure out what to do?" she silently nodded and ushered us out of the door. "Well, take me to your place. I need to go to sleep." we left the building, got into Alfred's car, and drove away.

Name Pronunciations:

Ne'ana-(nay-ana)

Karia-(kar-ia)

Siomai-(sy-o-my)

Other Pronunciations:

Siomaian-(sy-o-my-an)


End file.
